Skunk cabbage in Brecksville Res.

This is skunk cabbage. It is the first wildflower to bloom in this area. They actually start popping through the snows in late February in the wet areas of the parks.

You can see an older flower inside the "pod". It resembles a pine cone.

The green shoot on the left side contains leaves that will soon grow a lot bigger and unfold.

I did finds some of these back when there was still snow around. It was strange to come across a small valley filled with melted circles about a foot across in the snow with a group of pods inside the circles. Very alien-looking.